Player-piano.



s. L.- DICKINSON.

PLAYER PIANO. v gnmbnmn FILED P1213115, 1912 I 156593123. Patented Apr.15, 1913.

2 BHEBTSBHEET 1.

S. L. DICKINSON.

PLAYER PIANO.

APPLICATION FILED P123115, 1912.

Patented Apr. 15, 1913- 2 SEEETS-BHBET 2.

INVENTOR WITNESSES:

jwz;

ATTORNEY 56 i Fig, 2 is a similar view of a portion of the pianos,

proper regulation is secured, may

SAMUEL L. DICKINSON, OF CBAZNFORD, NEW JERSEY.

PLAYERFPIANO,

Specification of Letters li'atent.

Application filed Februaryifi, 1912. Serial No. 677,770.

To all whom may com-em Be it known that I, SAMUEL L. soN. a citizen ofthe United States, residing at Cranford, in the county of Union andState of New Jersey. have invented certain new and useful Improvementsin Player- Pianos, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to player'pianos such as that illustrated anddescribed in U. S. Letters Patent, No.h72,346, granted to me Octoberll,1910. The invention is di rected to the provision of an improvedconstruction and arrangement of the parts of pianos of this type wherebythe parts thereof Drama inay be more readily manufactured and assembled,whereby the work of regulating the pianos for proper operation isgreatly facilitated, and whereby the cost of manufacture is decreased.

The invention relates particularly to the construction and arrangementof the parts whereby the proper regulation of pneumatic playingmechanism may well known that in pneumatically operated as now commonlyconstructed, the work of regulating the piano consumes a substantialamount of time and as this .is an operation which can be done only by askilled workman, the cost of effecting the regulation is a substantialitem in the cost of manufacture of the completed pianos. In accordancewith the invention, the parts of the piano are so arranged and certainof them are'made removable sothat ready acwhereby the be obtained. Thisfeature of the invention involves removably mounting certain parts ofthe pneumatic-action upon suitable supports cess to the adjustableparts,

.in front of the piano-action of an upright piano and in front of thedevices connecting the striking pneumatics to the piano-action; by theremoval of these parts, ready access is had to these connecting devicesso that they may be readily adjusted in order to esfor the movementtablish the proper limits of the striking pneumatics and thus regulatetheblows delivered thereby to the hammers of the piano-action.

The preferred embodiment of the inven tion is illustrated in theaccompanying drawings in which Figurel is a vertical section through theupper portion of .an upright player-piano;

be secured. It 1s mechanism shown in Fig. 1 with the wind-- chestremoved; Fig. 3 is a front View of a portion of thepneumatic-action;Fig.4 is a view similar to Fig. 3, the wind-chestbeingremoved; Fig. 5 is a section of one of the valve chambers; and Fig. 6 isa top view of the same. I

Referring to these drawings, 1

the framework of an 'uprightpiano; 2 the indicates Patented 1*)1315,1913.

casing thereof; and 3thestr1ngsmounted upon the plate 4:.

key-bed 6. v

The action of the piano is mounted upon the lay-bed 6 above the keyboardin front of the strings 3, so thatthe hammers of the action may strikeupon their appropriate strings. This piano-action is carrie by aplurality of bracket-s 7, these brackets being arranged at the length ofthe action. Each bracket 7 is mounted upon the key-bed in such a manneras to permit of vertical adjustment thereof.- For this purpose,ball-bolts 8 are provided upon the key-bed 6 and each bracket 7 has asocket at its lower end bearing upon one of the ball-bolts. At theirupper ends, the brackets 7 are provided with slots which receive studs 9provided with thumb-nuts 10, whereby the brackets are held'in verticalposition. The action as above stated is mount; ed upon the brackets 7.This action may be of the usual or any suitable construction. In thedrawings awippen is shown at 11 pivotally mounted upon an action-rail 12and actuated by an abstract 49. The hammer 13 is also pivotally mountedupon'the act-iondistributedwpoints along The keyboard is shown 5, thekeys thereof being mounted upon. the

rail-12 and is operated bythe wippen 11 by means of a jack 14. Aback-check is mounted upon the wippen with a catch lfi carried by thehammer 13. When the hammer is in aretracted position, as shown in Fig.1, it rests upon a hammer? rail 17 mounted upon the brackets 7.

The automatic actuating mechanism for the ham1ners"'13 is mounted uponthe brackets 7. Means are provided whereby the automatic mechanism maybe adjusted vertically with respect to the brackets 7 and to thepiano-action carried by those brackets.

11 in the usual manner- -as indicated at 15, this back-check coactingThe brackets? are provided with ears 18 having threaded openings thereinwhich receive ball-bolts 19. These ball-bolts may be adjusted verticallyto any desired position in the openings, in cars 18 and may thenbe itslocked by locking nuts 20. The ball-bolts 19 on the-several brackets 7support auxiliary brackets 21. The upper ends or" these auxiliarybrackets positioned by studs 22 projecting foiwvardly from the brackets7 and extending through slots in the upper ends of the auxiliarybrackets 21, each stud 22 being provided with a thumbnut- 23. Thestriking pneumatics 24.- are mounted upon the auxiliary brackets 21. Forthis purpose, two bars 25 are provided extending lengthwise of the pianoand secured to the several auxiliary brackets Each of these bars 25 hasa plurality of striking pneumatics 2 L secured to the undersidetl'iereof. ln each of the bars are a plurality of passageways 26, oneconnecting with each of the striking pneumatics and tube 27 isconnectedto each of these passageways. The movable side of eachpneumatic 24 is connected by a rod 28 to the wippen 11 of the hammer 13corresponding to that pneumatic. Each of these rods 28 has a screwcap 29on its upper end which may be turned upon the rod so as to regulatethe-length of the rod. Each of these rods 28 also passes through anopening in strip 30 extending lengthwise of the piano and secured uponthe auxiliary brackets 21. "Each of the rods 28 is threaded along thepoizion thereof ad.- 'acent to the strip 30 and on this threaded portionof rod 23 are two nuts 31, one above and one below the strip 30. Thesenuts 31 are adapted to engage opposite sides the strip 30 so as to limitthe upward and downward movement of the rod 28 and, therefore, themot-*ement ot' the movable sideof the corresponding striking pneumatic.

The wind-chest and the valve-mechanisms thereon are removably mountedupon the auxiliary brackets 21 in such manner that by loosening thesecuring devices which hold it in position, it may be removed from itsposition. by drawing itv forwardly; This wind-chest 33 is secured to aplurality of metallic strips 34. Each of these strips is slot-ted at itsrear end and a screw-stud projects through this slot and into a threadedopening in the underlying auxiliary bracket 21.. Each of the strips 34is turned downwardly at its forward end and a screw 36 passes through anopening in this down wardly turned portion and enters a threaded openingin the forward end of the corresponding auxiliary bracket 21. Bywithdrawing the several screws 36, loosening the several screws 35, andremoving tubes 27, the wind-chest '33 may be drawn forwardly to removeit from its position.

By reason of the arrangement of the parts as above described, the workof regulating th pneumatic mechanism so that it will oper the action ofthe piano properly, may eadily pe mod the time" required therefor;- be imuch less tl quired with the constructions heretofore commonly employed.It will be "seen that the brackets 7 carrying the piano-acticn may beadjusted vertically as desired so to cause the hammers 13 to strikeupon'the wires 3 at the proper points on those wires. The auxiliarybrackets may also be adjusted vertically with respect to the brackets 7and the action of the piano so that the pneumatics and the connectionsfrom them to the wippens or other parts of the action may be properlypositioned. Furthermore, by removing the wind-chest 33 and the valvemechanisms mounted thereon, access may be hadto the caps 29 of the; rods28 and the nuts 31 on the rods 28, so that the efi ectiv'e length ofeach rod 28 may be regulated as desired and so that the limits of thethrow of each rod 28 by its pneumatic 24 maybe regulated as desired.Fig. 2 shows the principal parts illustrated in Fig. 1, except that thewind-chest and the valve mechanisms carried thereby have been removed.This figure shows with what freedom access may be had to the caps 29 andnuts 31. Figs. 3 and 4 are front views of certain of the parts shown inFigs. 1 and 2. In Fl g. 3, the windchest 33 is shown mounted in itsposition upon the auxiliary brackets, the valve mechanisms on thewind-chest being connected by the tubes 27 with the pneumatics 24. Fig.l corresponds to Fig. 3 except that. the windchest 33 has been removed.Its removal clears the space in :trontot the regulating devices upon therods 28 so that free access may be had to those devices.

The tracker is shown at 37 and the music sheet which coacts therewith.is shown at 38. These parts may be of the usual or any suitableconstruction. The tracker and the rolls for the music-sheet are mountedin a suitable tracker-box which is so supported with in the piano thatit is removable with the wind-chest. In the present instance thebottom-board of the tracker-box is mounted. upon the wind-chest 33 so asto lie parallel thereto and elevated therefrom a, sufiicient distance tomake room for the valve-mechanisms. The board 60 of the tracker-box isextended beyond the ends of the box and out to the ends of thewind-chest and two or more blocks 61 are secured to the wind-chest 33'and have the board 60 secured thereto.

Referring now to Figs. 1, 5 and 6, the valve mechanisms of thepneumatic-action will be described. The valve mechanisms forming part ofthe pneumatic action are made separate from the wind-chest and areafterward secured upon. the wind chest. Each valve mechanism consists ofa hollow member 46 made of thin metal; preferably a piece of sheet metalis pressed to the proper configuration forming a hollow member or cupsuch as that shown in Figs. 5

reand: Thismernber has a fian e- 39 atthe medias lower end or bottomthereof, whereby the interior of the Wind-cl1est This lower end &1around an opening in this end 01% the cup.

of, the member to open so that when the valve is mounted in position theinterior thereof is or may be connected With the interior of the Windchest. At'the opposite or upper end of the falve mechanism, the metalthereof is drawn down-to form alip A bridge as is mounted uponthis endof the member 46 and extends across the opening therein, this bridgebeing provided with a central opening, as shown in Fig. 6. Within themember is a reciprocating valve which is adapted to close. the opening40 leading to the interior of the Wind-chest or the opening at theopposite end of member 46 Within the lip a l. This valve has a stem aswhich is guided by the central opening in the bridge l2 and at'itsoppositeend extends through the opening 40' In the Windchest to devicesof the characterheretofore commonly employed for actuating such a valve.On the spindle 43 are two disks 44 i and 45, the former being adapted toclose the opening 40 when the valve is in one posithe latter beingadapted to close tion and the opening Within the lip l1 when the valveis, raised toihe upper position.

The common practice heretofore in the construction of pneumatic-actionshas been to provide the valve mechanisms of such an action Within the.Wall of the Wind-chest by boring that wall sary passages therein. Thispractice has frequently resulted in cracking a board of the Wind-chestso much as to render it useless. By forming the valve chambers sepa ratefrom the Wind-chest and thereafter sei curing them upon the Wind-chestin the proper positions, the expense incident to such breakage isreduced or completely avoided. Furthermore, valve mechanisms constructedas above described by suitably shaping sheet metal may be manufacturedat be readily mounted in position upon the Wind-chest and are efficientand reliable in their operation.

' Having described my invention, What I, claim as new therein and desireto secure by Letters Patent of the'Unitcd States is:

1. In a player-piano, the combination of a casing, a keyboard therein, apiano-action mounted within the casing above the key board, a pluralityof striking pneumatics,

a connection from each pneumatic to a' ham-.

mer of the action, adjusting means in each of said connections,andawindchest removably mounted in front of the piano action and saidadjusting means, its removal giv ing access to the adjusting means,substantially as set forth.

2. In a player-piano, the combination of so as to provide the neces-' acasing, a keyboard thereinQa piano-action mounted Within the casingabove the -keys of the action, a connection from each pneuof theaction,adjusting means 111 each of said connections, and a Wind-chest mountedin front of the piano-action and removable to give access to saidadjusting means, substantially as set forth.

3; In a player-piano, the combination of a frame, strings thereon, akeyboard, a keybed, a plurality of brackets mounted on the mounted onthe brackets in front of the ac tion, a connect-ion from each pneumaticto the action for actuating a hammer of the action, adjusting means ineachof said connections, and a Wind-chestremovably mounted on saidbrackets in front of the piano-action and by its removal giving accessto said adjusting means, substantially as set forth.

d. In a player-piano, the combination of a frame, strings thereon, akeyboard, a keybed, a plurality of brackets mounted on the key-bed, apiano-action mounted on the, brackets, auxiliary brackets each mountedon one of said brackets, a plurality of striking Pneumatics mounted onthe auxiliary brackets infront of the action, a connection from eachpneumatic to the action for actuating a hammer of the action, adjustingmeans in each of said connections, and a wind-chest removably mounted onsaid auxiliary brackets in front of the piano-action and said adjustingmeans, its removal giving access to said adjusting means, substantiallyas set forth. 5. In a playcr-piano, the combination of a casing, akeyboard therein, a piano-action mounted Within the casing above thekeyboard and in front of the strings, a plurality of striking neumaticsmounted in front of the action, aconnection from each pneu- Ina-tic tothe action for actuating a hammer of the action, adjusting means in eachcon nectionfor adjusting the limits of the movement thereof actuated bythe pneumatic, and a wind-chest mounted in front of the pianoaction andremovable to give access to said adjusting means, substantially as setforth. 6; In a player-piano, the combination of a a plurality ofbrackets mounted on the key bed, a piano-action mounted on the brackets,a plurality of striking pneumatics mounted on the brackets in front ofthe action, a rod actuated by each the pneumatic with the action, nutson said rods for adjusting the limits of the movement of the rods andPneumatics, and a wind-chest removably mounted on said brackets in frontof the piano-actiongnd said nuts and by its matic to the action foractuating a hammer key-bed, a piano-action mounted on the brackets, aplurality of striking pneumatics frame,'strings thereon, a keyboard, akey-bed,-

pneumat-ic and connectingboard and .in front of the strings, a pluralityof striking pneumatics mounted in front piano-action and said adjustingmeans, said 7. In a player-piano, the combination of a "frame, stringsthereon, a keyboard, a keybed, a plurality of brackets mounted on thekey-bed and adjustable vertically with respect to the key-bed andstrings, a pianoaction mounted on'the brackets, a plurality of auxiliarybrackets each mounted on one of said brackets and adjustable verticallyWith I respect to said brackets and the piano-act'on carried therebystriking pneumatics mount- --ed'on the auxiliary brackets and connectedto the piano-action, and a wind-chestmount ed'on the auxiliary bracketsand connected to the neumatics, substantially as set forth.

8. In a player-pi'ano, the combination of a casing, a keyboard therein,a piano-action mounted Within the casing above the key board, aplurality of striking pneumatics,

a connection from each pneumatic to a hamme]: of the action, ad ustingmeans in each of said connections, and. a pneumatic-mechanism removablymounted in front of the pneumatic-mechanism including a Windchest,valve-mechanisms cooperating therewith to control the pneumatics, atrackerbox and a tracker all of which parts are re- Copies or thispatent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing theficmmissioner of linovable from the piano together and their removalgive access to said adjusting means, substantially as set forth.

9. In a player-piano, the combination of i a frame, strings thereon, akeyboard, a key bed, a plurality of brackets mounted on the key-bed andadjustable vertically with respect to the key-bed and strings, apianoaction mounted on the brackets, a plurality of auxiliary bracketseach mounted on one of said brackets and adjustable vertically withrespect/to said brackets and the pianoaction carried thereby, strikingpneuinatics mounted. on. the auxiliary brackets and con. nected to thepiano-action, a Windchest connected to the striking neumatics,tracker-box and a tracker, said Wind-ob Nb tracker-box and tracker beingmounted upon the auxiliary brackets so as to be removable therefromtogether and by their removal giving access to the connections from. thestriking neumatics to the piano-action, sub stantially as set forth.

This specification signed and witnessed this 10th day cit-February,1912.

SAMUEL L. DICKINSON Witnesses:

I. MCINTOSH, Josey}: F. COLLlNS.

